rome Flashcards
3 periods of rome
- etruscan 2000 BC
- the republic 43 BC
-julius caesar
-senators (no emperors) and 2 counsels - the empire AD 37
roman social structure/hierarchy
social mobility
-no definable middle class
-born into social status, limited positions to vary
-reflected political power
main factors determining your place in roman society
- citizenship status
- place of birth
- level of wealth
- live in country/city
- free
6
hierachy top to bottom
- emperor
-control political, military, eco, religious authority - imperial family
- elite
-patricians
-senators
-equestrian order (knights NOT hereditary) -
PLEBIANS (ingenui)
-freeborn
-Plebs Media (wealthier)
-Plebs Humilus, poor)
-freeborn citizens -
Liberti (freedmen = once slaves) (no women, lower social ranking)
Wealthy freedmen
Poorer Freedmen
* NEVER allowed enter senatorial order
-Gained manumission (freedom)
-Sometimes granted by master, otherwise save payments and buy freedom
-Once freed, often stayed connected with masters, patron + client relationship -
Servi (latin)
Slaves, have own hierarchy
-Some educated, some domestic, others employed to clean toilets, bathhouses, most humble slaves at mines & gally slaves (Ships, chained underneath deck and rowing constantly)
patron/client relationship
liberti, poorer freedmen
-slaves set free, never allowed to enter senatorial order
-even later gaining wealth, servile origin never forgotten
-Usually political/business relationships
-If freedmen set business, patron from elite could help set up w/ contacts, money, etc
-In return, freedman show loyalty and support for patron esp in political office
-Maintain relationship was reciprocal, benefits both parties
-sometimes freedmen became incredibly wealthy with their businesses, wealth threatened elite who had lot of money too, despised ‘new money’not not wealthy for generations
-Sometimes freedmen sons ran for political officers to elevate social ranking
senators
served emperor throughout empire
-gained wealth from large estates
-hereditary
upperstrata
emperor
imperial family
senators, equestrians, rich freedmen
1, 2,3
lower strata
-poor freedborn citizens (plebs)
-freedmen (liberti)
-slaves
plebs urbana & plebs rustica
city dwellers (better chances for employment, more access to public life and entertainment) and country dwellers
urban plebs (
despised, squalid living conditions, inferior food & clothes
‘bread and circuses’
lower classes greater in number than upper classes, emperors kept content by handing out food & public entertainment
slaves
exploited for wealth from agriculture & manufacture labour
-defeated in war, free citizens sold themselves to pay debt
-renamed
-wealthy romans used ownership as status symbol (diff to find avg no owned, evidence)
-3 slaves/less poverty
rights of slaves
-no right to marry/family/own property/acquire wealth
-some operated businesses but money never belonged to them
peculium
roman masters give slave ALLOWANCE (money, goods, land) to accumulate it and buy freedom
-master could withdraw any time
public slaves
owned by state
-clean sewers, public baths, roads
rural slaves
harder life than urban slaves
-farms, large estates, owned by individuals
treatment of slaves
-abused, punished, sold
-investment: had to be fed, clothed, housed
-owners didnt wanna damage property, lose value
-could be loved/brutality
-roman law, no rights, masters life/death but waste of investment
- punish indiscriminately whipping, beating for small misdemeanours
-serious: crucified, beasts circus, burnt alive
-emperor Claudius passed legislation to improve conditions & treatment
manumission (process), emancipation (manumissio)
freeing of slaves
-obtain freedom
1. master give permission to appear before lictor, declare slave free by touching with rod, slave wore cap: LIBERTY
2. buy freedom ‘nest egg’ peculium
paterfamilias
male head of roman family, whole household ‘father of HH’
-absolute authority
-earlier held life/death over family later limited
3 diff powers of paterfamilias
-
PATRIA POTESTAS
-paterfamilias over children (parental authority) -
MANUS
-power of fathers, brothers, husbands over women -
DOMINUS
-authority over slaves
‘master/owner of slaves’
domestic hearth
centre of roman HH where paterfamilias celebrate religious practices with family
worship
1. LARES
-HH deities for home
-own shrine (cupboard)
-dropped food offered
2. GENUIS
-god of male descent
-worshipped on bday of paterfamilias
3. PENATES
-gods of food store/larder
-statuetees on table at meals
everyone home had its own shrine/lararium for daily worship by whole fam
education and paterfamilias
paterfamilias responsible + religious training of children
-only males possessed soul(ANIMUS)
-women, children, slaves dependend on husband, father, master for animus
divorce
end of the Republic divorce epidemic proportions
-Augustus tried regularise procedure of divoce
-only need agreement of married couple to part, publicly announced w/ 7 witnesses & written + announced by freedman of HH
bc of this, wife could reclaim dowry after divorce, husbands scared to lose wife’s dowry and married financial only
roman values
virtues taught within family extending to publi and political life
-romans honoured past acts of ancestors ‘MOS MAIORUM)
key virtues of roman values
GRAVITAS
-responsibility even smallest affairs too great to be trifled with
-nothing too much trouble
PIETAS
-sense of duty to gods and parents
-obedience and parental authority
SIMPLICITAS
-grounded, see with clarity and subjectively
-education
restricted to upper classes
-slaves, most freeborn lil to none (handle coinage, unable to read/write)
-Republican, mothers responsible to educate children
-Imperial, education handed to nurses & slaves, learnt latin literature > greek classics
-arithmetic
-no formal edu system, taught by PAEDAGOGUS (literate slave) in HH
-boys educatred for public life 17yo when donned TOGA VIRILIS
-apartment buildings, no desks/boards
teachers in rome
no formal training, paid poorly, long hours, occupation for freedmen/impoverished free men
patron-client relationship
IMPERIAL period, emperor ‘super’ patron as families paid him homage
-upper strata patrons to lower in social order
-responsibility for client to support patron at political elections and favours
-in return, patron assist client in legal matters/free meal
-each morning clients flock to patrons house to pay respects (SALUTATIO) to flatter & gain favour
shops and markets
political demads took over end of Republic, removed from Forum and spread to nearby streets & districts
-specialised goods near river Tiber
-meat/cattle market Forum Boarium
-veg market Forum Holitorium
-general market (Oil, wine, wheat) Velabrium
-most shops ground floor of building , above living quarters
-goods transported from country at night shops open early morning
Forum Romanum (fora as emperors added own forums)
Republic centre of roman life
-public ceremonies, political, legal, commercial, relgiious activities
-public speeches given from podium of temple of castor & pollux
housing
-some lavishly decorated public buildings
-residential areas cramped, squalid
DOMUS (independent house/estate)
-imperial family
-owned by members of senatorial/equestrian class
INSULAE
-multi-storey apartments/tenements
-majority of pop
-spacious/tiny cubicle only sleep
upper classes imperial period housing
atriums and tablinums from republic not fashionable anymore
-gardens, courtyards main features + mosaics, paintings on walls
-imperial bureaucracy offices within palace
-reflect profession, wealth, status (spacious if bus conducted in home)
INSULAE/tabernae for POOR
surrounded by narrow streets
-wealthier lower floors
-cramped, noisy, lack privacy
-lack amenities (heating, lighting)
-shared cooking facilities, latrines
streets
extensive communication system of roads
-straight roads, narrow
-main streets accessible (shops, businesses for 1 industry)
-crossraods at end
-little sunlight penetrated to streets, shaded by high public buildings and multi-storey insulae
-raised footpaths to collect rainwater and rubbish
water supply
originally water from Tiber but growing city exploit other sources
-aquaducts brought water from ivers into rome distributed through nymphaea
-private supply needed emperor permission
sanitation
large channel underneath Forum Romanum to dispose waste
-system running water through public latrines and channel to move
health
minor problems modern life threatening to ancient romans
-cause of disease not understood, remedies primitive
-doctors untrained and for everyone, risked lives for experiements and no penalty for killng man
-magic charms, healing herbs, prayers for cures
-no hospitals
-common ‘swollong eyes, skin rashes, lost limbs’
-high lead content in body, cooking pots and water thru lead pipes, inadvertently poisoning themselves –> infertility, high infant mortality
death and burial customs
-short life expectancy
-few lived beyond 50
-showed great PIETAS towards dead
-believied spirits (manes) close links with lviing, required offerings for afterlife and haunt if adquate burial didnt occur
-dead went to underworld (Hades)
-deathbed on bare earth last breath kissed by relative
-CONCLAMATIO loudly call dead’s name to reawaken body, no response –> CONCLAMATIO beyond recall
-wash corpse with warm water, oil body, temporary embalming process, dress clothes by rank
-body on funeral couch in atrium feet point towards door, candles burned around with wreaths
-time corpses displayed & funeral depend on social class
-poor buried in pits w/ no ceremony + children
public and private religion
ritual, not faith/belief
-no personal relation with gods or offer doctrine/explanation of world
-polytheistic worshipped many, 12 olympic gods
-believed controlled spheres of nature
-worship as offerings, sacrifices, festivals, games
-divination (tell will of gods from omens) major part
-religion integral part of MOS MAIORUM
omens
bad/good
-bird watching common, look at flight to find will of gods
priests
-officials of state
-imperial period very involved in religious duties
-Flamines for major deities of roman state
-conduct sacrifices, take auspices (read entrails), perform rituals, thank gods on behalf of imperial family
-chief priest Pontifex Maximus
ludi romani (games)
social, eco, political, relgiious functions
-days devoited to theatrical shows, chariot races, animal hunts, parades
gods and goddesses
closely resembled Greeks but renamed
Imperial times, custom to worship emperors as gods (deification)
-believed watched every aspect of life but many lost faith by 1st century BC
jUPITER (Zeus) god of thunder, king of all gods
Juno (hear) wife, goddess of women & childbirth
Minerva (Athena) goddess of wisdom
romans worshipping of the gods (polytheistic)
constantine ‘the great’ legalised christianity via Edict of Milan, before, it was persecuted
-gods special responsibilities, kept happy with sacrifices & ceremonies or bad luck
elected/voted for ‘king of sacrifices’ REX SACRORUM who worked under HEAD PRIEST ‘PONTIFEX MAXIMUS’ to organise all religious practices
festivals sacrificed animals
-internal organs examined for omens from gods (entrails, auspices)
-natural events (thunder, lightning) priests to interpret
Roman HH
-shrine for offerings(foodstuff, drinks, prayers) to gods to protect HH
-spirits of ancestors happiness in underworld (flowers, food, wine) early morning & before evening main meal
interest in Egyptian gods (Isis)
christianity in rome
monotheistic god challenged romans (condemned slaves, cruel sport in amphitheatres), stop worshipping emperor)
-ppl in Palestine Jesus Christ eternal life, love in heaven son of God
-leaders of jewish religion afraid to lose power, crucified christ but crucifixion convinced christ was god’s son
-prison, tortured but offered poor hope for better life after death
-ad 313 major religion of empire faded others until ad 392 only Christianity and temples converted to churches
